Tag Archives: newcastle

Play me and Torres up front… we'll blast Chelsea back into the Champions League, insists Ba

By
Andy James

PUBLISHED:

14:45 GMT, 19 April 2013

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UPDATED:

15:16 GMT, 19 April 2013

Demba Ba has told Chelsea boss Rafa Benitez that he and Fernando Torres are ready to start up front together in Sunday's Barclays Premier League clash against Liverpool.

Benitez has rotated the two strikers in a 4-2-3-1 formation since Ba joined from Newcastle in January but the pair combined effectively in the second half of last weekend's 2-1 FA Cup semi-final defeat to Manchester City.

Benitez faces a selection dilemma with Torres desperate to start at his former club and Ba's form in front of goal making him hard to ignore – but the Senegalese insists they can play together.

Partners in crime Demba Ba (left) has said he wants to play with Fernando Torres (right) up front for Chelsea

He told the London Evening Standard:
'When he came on the pitch against City he helped me a lot. We caused
them problems so I think we could play together.

'We combined against Brentford earlier
in the competition, too, so I don’t believe it would be a problem for
us. Most of the time we have to fight against the two central defenders
on our own. If you have an extra body there, it makes it easier.

'This is also very important in
football, to be able to control the game. I would understand if Fernando
wants to start against Liverpool. We’re not making the decision but I
would understand if he does.

One or the other: Ba (left) has rarely played with Torres, the two usually used as like-for-like replacements

Meanwhile, Benitez insists he is
focused only on the immediate future and not his past with Liverpool as
he prepares to take his Chelsea side to Anfield.

In a press conference on Friday the
Spaniard declined to assess Liverpool since his departure in June 2010
or to talk about events at Anfield ahead of his first return as an
opposing manager.

'I have a lot of respect, but I have to concentrate on my team,' Benitez said.

'I don't want any misunderstanding, so
I will concentrate just on Chelsea and the game and try to enjoy it,
especially if we can win.'

Job at hand: Rafa Benitez insists he is only focused on Chelsea ahead of his return to Liverpool

Benitez is expected to receive a warm
welcome in the week which marked both his 53rd birthday and the 24th
anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster.

He spent six years at Anfield, helping
Liverpool to the 2005 Champions League in his first season, the FA Cup,
the Community Shield and European Super Cup, while the Reds finished
second in the Premier League in 2008-09.

His family home remains on Merseyside
and he supports the campaigners in their fight for justice for the 96
supporters killed at Hillsborough in 1989.

His is a lasting bond with Liverpool, but Benitez's aim is to defeat his former club.

'I'm a professional and I am committed
with Chelsea until the end of the season, to win, to achieve our
targets,' said Benitez, who is out of contract at the end of the
campaign.

Flying the flag: Benitez is still a hugely popular figure at Anfield, having won them the Champions League in 2005

'I was there for six years, winning a lot of things together.

'They (Liverpool supporters) will
appreciate that, but at the same time they will try to support their
team and they will understand that I have to try to do my best and win.'

Benitez recently was quoted as saying
he wanted to return 'home' to Liverpool and that his wish was to move to
a top club, possibly in England next season.

That was interpreted by some as a possible return to Liverpool, but Benitez meant his family home.

For reasons of clarity, the Spaniard declined the opportunity to appraise Reds incumbent Brendan Rodgers.

'I have a lot of respect for Liverpool Football Club and all their managers,' he said.

'What I said clearly is Liverpool is
my home, my family is living there and because I don't want any
misunderstanding, I will not talk about the club, the position or the
manager's position or whatever. My family's there, it's my home.'

Ben Arfa could return to bench for Benfica… and is set to take on Sunderland in derby

By
Colin Young

PUBLISHED:

09:30 GMT, 9 April 2013

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UPDATED:

23:04 GMT, 9 April 2013

Newcastle United midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa could make a shock return to the bench for tomorrow's Europa League tie with Benfica.

The France midfielder, who has missed the last month with a recurrence of the hamstring injury which has hampered most of his season, was originally ruled out for the rest of the campaign by manager Alan Pardew.

But Ben Arfa, who suffered the injury in Moscow last month, has given Pardew a welcome boost as the Toon boss contemplates whether to field his strongest side for the European quarter-final, which Portuguese league leaders Benfica lead 3-1 from last week's first leg at the Stadium of Light, or for Sunday's Tyne-Wear derby at St James's Park.

Swagger: Hatem Ben Arfa is Newcastle's most talented player

Captain Fabricio Coloccini and France
international defender Mathieu Debuchy are also in line for comebacks
from injury in Sunday's North East while Yohan Cabaye, who suffered a
foot injury in Sunday's win over Fulham, is unlikely to be risked
against Benfica so he will be fit to face Sunderland.

Ben Arfa had a short run-out at St
James' on Sunday ahead of the Fulham clash and has made excellent
progress under the watchful eye of Pardew's medical team, and a
consultant from France.

Pardew said: 'He thinks he is now 100
per cent and we are treating him as that. He is running and there could
be a cameo against Sunderland.

'He has a week's work and if he gets through that he could be involved.'

With a sell-out expected at St James'
tomorrow night, the Newcastle boss has warned supporters they will need
to be patient to help the team through a testing night.

Touchline passion: Both Alan Pardew and Paolo Di Canio will be targeting three points on Sunday

Benfica, who lead Porto in their
domestic league, are unbeaten in 30 games but face a Newcastle side who
have not in 13 European home games – 24 if the Intertoto Cup defeat to
Deportivo La Coruna more than 10 years ago is discounted.

Pardew added: 'We just need to get
ourselves in a good position. If we can get a goal with 20 minutes to go
we can do it. That's the agenda for me.

'Our fans need to understand we go
gung-ho for two goals we are just going to get killed. They have real
quality on the break and we have got to be very intelligent and
patient.'

Sunderland head coach Paolo Di Canio
has no fresh injury worries for the weekend, although he must find a
central midfield replacement for Craig Gardner who is suspended after
picking up his 10th booking at Chelsea on Sunday.

The former Birmingham City midfielder blamed former Newcastle striker Demba Ba for his caution.

'It was not a yellow card,' Gardner said of the challenge which many felt could have earned a red.

The bootroom: Survival It's all about nerve now… and Stoke, Norwich and Newcastle must keep theirs

By
Martin Keown

PUBLISHED:

21:30 GMT, 5 April 2013

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UPDATED:

22:57 GMT, 5 April 2013

Taking it easy: Jocky Wilson relaxes away from the pressures of the oche

The late, great darts legend Jocky Wilson used to recount how pressure could reach out and grab him by the throat. Once that happened, he could do nothing.

Stoke, Norwich and Newcastle must make sure that the same thing doesn’t happen to them this weekend.

They are the teams in 13th, 14th and 15th places in the Barclays Premier League, just a few points above the drop zone and all with very winnable home games this weekend.

Stoke, with one win in 12, are at home to Aston Villa. Norwich have won one in 14 and face out-of-sorts Swansea. Newcastle, after returning from Lisbon, hope a fourth successive home win — against Fulham — can pull them clear of danger.

It’s easy to look at those sides and say they’ll be fine but why should they be The bottom of the table is as close as I can remember and if you are one of those teams, you will be nervous.

All these teams are probably a win away from safety. If you can put daylight between you and the bottom three quickly, it’s fine. If you don’t, that win you need becomes harder to come by.

This weekend, Stoke manager Tony Pulis, Chris Hughton at Norwich and Alan Pardew at Newcastle will have pencilled in must-win matches. Of their respective opponents, Villa are deep in trouble, Swansea have lost three in a row while Fulham are safe and have little to play for.

Such is Villa’s and Wigan’s fighting spirit that they are pulling the teams above them into the relegation battle. They worried Sunderland so much that they sacked Martin O’Neill. But all the teams up to and including Southampton will be a bit nervous.

Stoke, more than anyone, might have the outcome of the relegation battle in their hands. After Villa, they play Norwich, QPR, Sunderland and Southampton before the end of the season. Last week against Everton they were poor, Peter Crouch and Cameron Jerome especially.

Out of sorts: Stoke lost at Everton last weekend (above), while Newcastle were thumped by Manchester City (below left) and Norwich were beaten by Wigan (below right)

It doesn’t look like Stoke’s players are responding to Pulis as much as they used to and they have failed to evolve as a team. Their passing and style should be better after so many years in the Premier League. And there is the added uncertainty over Pulis’s future, which cannot be helping the players. I didn’t like hearing him talk this week about how many points will be needed to stay up. The focus should be on improving the team, not counting the points and fixtures.

We did that when I was relegated with Aston Villa and it cost us. You must not become obsessed with each and every scenario.

But Pulis is a fighter and has done remarkably well at that club overall. I’m confident he’ll keep them up, even if they have regressed this season.

Norwich hardly concede but they hardly score either. And after losing at Wigan last weekend, the pressure is on a little bit. When you lose to a team below you, it can give you the impression that they are better than you. It will not have inspired confidence. Three wins on the trot against Swansea will give them some belief that they can claim three vital points.

For Stoke and Norwich, staying up is their main aim. Anything after that is a bonus. For Newcastle it is slightly different, although people are realising now just how much they overachieved last season.The Europa League has not helped them but they haven’t won a trophy for 44 years so they need to take it seriously. It’s just vital that their league form doesn’t dip any more or the situation will snowball.

You're a liar! Nasri hits back at Mancini and praises former manager Wenger as his best-ever boss in further snub

By
Andy James

PUBLISHED:

22:29 GMT, 1 April 2013

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UPDATED:

00:56 GMT, 2 April 2013

Samir Nasri has labelled manager Roberto Mancini a liar after the Italian questioned his 24million man’s efforts in training.

The Frenchman has endured a difficult campaign with the Premier League champions, and was damned with faint praise by Mancini after his impressive showing against Newcastle on Saturday.

Nasri turned in a man of the match performance in City’s 4-0 win and the manager joked that he ‘wanted to give him a punch’ for only showing his best form it fits and bursts.

False accusations: Samir Nasri, who shone against Newcastle, has hit back at manager Roberto Mancini

‘I don’t know what the difference was
today,’ Mancini said. ‘I can’t understand sometimes a player with his
quality doesn’t play like today every game. I think that the second year
is always difficult to win again. And sometimes a player can think it
is enough to play 50 per cent. Probably we had this problem this year.’

But speaking on French television channel beIN Sport on Monday night, Nasri hit back.

He
said: ‘I am aware that I have not had a good season. There are many
reasons for this. But when Mancini said that I’m training at 50 per
cent, this is not true.’

Swipe: Mancini had blasted Nasri for only putting '50 per cent' effort in in training

In
another thinly veiled swipe at Mancini, Nasri heaped praise on former
boss Arsene Wenger, under whom he was first given a chance in the
Premier League when he signed for Arsenal in 2008.

The
France international spent three years at the Emirates Stadium, but
left in 2011, a decision which continues to sit uncomfortably with
Gunners fans.

But the
25-year-old says he has no regrets about the decision to turn his back
on ‘the greatest coach he ever worked with’, insisting his decision to
move north was not based on money.

In action: Nasri put in an impressive display in City's ruthless 4-0 demolition of Newcastle on Saturday

He
added: ‘Arsene Wenger is the greatest coach I have worked with. He is
the one who understands me the most, he made me realise my potential. I
am grateful to him for the role he played in my career. I only regret
not having more discussions with him when I left.

‘I
do not have other regrets. I do not regret joining Manchester City. I
want to play and perform, and my departure from Arsenal is purely for
sporting reasons.

‘When you
compare Arsenal and City, it’s not the same. With City I’m playing in a
better team, I won the title, and Arsenal fight to qualify for the
Champions League. I didn’t leave for money.

‘Even when I left, I was in training well. All went well with the manager because he knows I showed professionalism.’

And
in a move which likely enrage fans even further, Nasri claims he was
forced out of the club because unpopular owner Stan Kroenke wanted to
cash in a player who had one year left on his deal.

The real story: Nasri claimed he was forced out of Arsenal by billionaire owner Stan Kroenke

‘Cesc
[Fabregas, who quit for Barcelona the same summer] or me were supposed
to leave,’ he explained. ‘Arsene told me that if Cesc would leave, I
would stay. ‘But Kroenke could not ignore the transfer fee.’

Nasri also dismissed speculation linking him with a move away from England this summer, despite interest from his homeland.

An FA statement read: 'Chelsea
defender Gary Cahill has been ruled out of England’s World Cup qualifier
with San Marino on Friday evening.

'Cahill
was assessed by England medical staff on Monday and will not be able to
take part in the match, but will be reassessed later in the week with a
view to the second of England’s two qualifiers, against Montenegro on
Tuesday.'

Taylor earns his call-up on the back
of a string of fine performances for the Magpies. He has represented
England at every level from Under 16 through to Under 21 and earned a
place in the full squad for a friendly against Germany in 2007.

More to follow…

SOS: Newcastle defender Steven Taylor has been called in to the England squad by boss Roy Hodgson

Newcastle boss Alan Pardew has once again urged England manager Roy Hodgson to take a look at the centre back.

The 27-year-old, a former captain of his country at Under-21 level, was one of the stand-out performers as the Magpies fought back from a goal down to defeat the Potters 2-1 in the Barclays Premier League at St James' Park.

'They really do need to have a look at him at centre-half because I think it's a problem position for England and his performance against [Peter] Crouch and everything else that they threw at us today – because we had no height in the team.